Photo courtesy of Jessie Sondia/Iloilo City Local School Board
ILOILO CITY – The city government here will partner with the Department of Education (DepEd) in classroom construction to address the shortage of facilities.
Special Assistant to the Mayor Mathilde Treñas, in an interview on Tuesday, said Iloilo City has been identified as among the first batch of local government units that will sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the DepEd for the “construction, replacement, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, and improvement of classrooms.”
In October last year, she said, the city government sent a request to DepEd for funds totaling PHP3 billion for 45 major projects, each with a funding requirement of more than PHP40 million.
“It is still subject to approval and availability of the budget. But we put that as our priority in requesting funding,” she said.
She said the city has a shortage of 521 classrooms, while the current enrollment is 75,000 for 66 public elementary and secondary schools.
With the classroom shortage, Treñas said, some schools have resorted to alternative learning modalities, such as shortened class hours, blended learning, and half-day classes.
She noted that even with the request, the city government has allocated about PHP200 million in its 2026 budget for the infrastructure needs of schools. (PNA)
